Matters of the Heart

C2: Home Sweet Home

Standard Disclaimer: I don't own any of the recognizable characters.

Bella's POV

It took another week before I was cleared to finally go home, or in this case my new home with Esme and the rest of the family, since Charlie had made it abundantly clear that I wasn't welcome there anymore, stating I had made everything up and had pretended to be hurt.

That had of course devolved into a grudge match in the hospital room, with him being escorted out by security.

Esme, Alice, Rose and Victoria had been a tremendous help in keeping me safe from him, since I wouldn't have put it past him to actually try to hurt me if his temper got the best of him. Esme in the meantime had told him in no uncertain terms that he could stick his beliefs right up his ass and that they would be by for my stuff later that day.

Of course Charlie didn't have a response to that since he never knew what to say when a strong woman challenged his accusations. It's what led to the divorce in the first place.

It also hadn't helped that Renee's flighty nature had made me exactly what he couldn't handle, a strong and independent young woman, at least until I met Edward. He couldn't handle me when I was basically forced to live with him, and the way he screamed at me made it clear he still couldn't. I also was pretty sure that he already knew I preferred women and that had also made him even more nasty towards me.

It didn't matter now though. We were in the car on our way home and I couldn't be happier about the fact, and I was clearly not the only one because Rosalie seemed equally happy about the fact, since I hadn't seen her smile like this in forever. "Someone seems happy that they're getting a new housemate."

She smiled at me. "You mean so much more than just that to all of us Bella. I merely offered to come and get you from the hospital since I had the most comfortable car. Plus we haven't really spent that much time together and I really want to rectify that before we go to Volterra."

I smiled at her. "That's true, we haven't really spent any time together thanks to that idiot and it should indeed be rectified, but why specifically before we go to Volterra?" I asked softly.

"Because of the dynamic mating bond we share, there is a big chance for all four of us becoming quite possessive of you, and the stronger and more secure we feel in that connection we share with you, the less you will notice how possessive we are. It a part of our instincts we have little control over." She said honestly.

I nodded and smiled at that. "I figured it had something to do with instincts, a lot of things where I am concerned seem to revolve around instincts."

Rosalie smiled at me. "That's because of the type of mating bond we share Bella. We are all very protective of you and we all love you very much. Chances are that once that cast comes off and you are fully healed you will find yourself being cuddled up against one of us for considerable amounts of time. Especially Esme will be quite clingy. She not only sees you as a lover, but as a daughter as well, so she's been extra worried."

"Well she's been more of a mother to me in the last months than my own mother was, so I'm not surprised, no matter how weird it feels to be both lover and daughter to someone, or lover and sister for that matter." I said as I felt a blush creep up my neck.

"I know it might feel weird now Bella, but it will start to make sense in a few days when you've had the chance to be around our pheromones for full days, you will start to feel more comfortable with it, and knowing how well you've responded to our shared mating bond so far, I wouldn't be surprised if you would start to feel the things we do." Rosalie said softly.

I smiled and nodded at that. "What exactly are the things you feel for me Rose?"

She smiled and gave my thigh a squeeze. "There are a lot of things I feel for you Bella, not all of them can be put into words, but love and protection are most prominent among them. It is the same for all of us, but because of how I was turned, I feel even more protective of you. I also know you have a ton of questions, which I will answer soon, but not right now. It's both a bit too lengthy to go into now and it's also a hard story to tell."

I nodded at her. "I figured it would be. From what I've gathered from everyone so far, everyone in the family was turned under violent circumstances."

Rosalie nodded at that. "Yes, all of us have less than pleasant histories, and I think Esme's history may surprise you when you hear it. I think she'll tell you if you ask her about her past."

"I'm sorry Rose. I know it doesn't mean much now, but I am sorry that happened to you." I said softly.

The blonde smiled at me. "Thank you Bella. It actually means a lot to me to know that you care as much as you do. It'll make it easier to tell you the story."

I smiled and squeezed her thigh as we pulled onto the driveway of the Cullen home. "There is no rush Rosalie. One thing we have now is time."

She nodded as she parked the car and flashed to my side before I had time to blink. "Sometimes I hate it when you guys do that." I muttered softly.

She just smiled and pressed a kiss to my cheek as she lifted me out of my seat. "I know, but we would rather be safe than sorry at this point. I know you're not the most steady human on the best of days, but now that you're still on your medication, we need some extra reassurance that you'll be safe."

I just smiled as she carried me inside, where the rest of the family had made sure to make me a very comfortable corner on the couch. "Welcome home sweetie." Esme said with a soft smile.

Esme's POV

I couldn't contain the joy that I felt to finally have our lover at home, so we could all be sure that she would forevermore be safe and protected.

We knew very well what was going to happen when we came back from Volterra without Carlisle and the sooner we would tell Bella about this, the better it would be. She had enough lies told to her and we had unanimously agreed to never do so again. That also meant that we had a lot of explaining still to do, and I hoped we could do that in the next week until we had to leave for Volterra.

Right now I was very happy to have her here with us while she was cuddled up against Alice's side, and it was clear to everyone neither of them minded that particular fact. "We're so happy that you're home Bella. We're going to have so much fun now that you're here."

"As I am very happy to be home at long last Ali, but no excessive shopping trips until I'm off my medication. And certainly no heels until I'm turned." Bella said with a soft smile.

Alice smiled and nodded. "The last thing I want to do is make you uncomfortable Bella. Plus I don't think Esme would appreciate an all day shopping trip this close before we have to leave. What I have seen is a couple of outfits for you that will be very comfortable for you on the long flight to Italy and another one for when you meet the Queens. They should be here in a couple of days. I think you'll love them."

"When you order something for me, I know I will love it. I would never dare to bet against your sense of fashion." Bella said with a soft smile.

"No one ever does sweetie. That's the beauty of having a fashionista living with us. But before Alice goes on an hour long explanation on what she's planning to buy for you, we need to talk about something that is very likely going to happen once we return. As you know Carlisle had a treaty with the wolves of La Push, and since it is highly unlikely that he is going to return with us, that treaty is going to become strained to say the very least. The wolves are pretty misogynistic to any woman outside of their own imprints, but at the same time, we will not move from Forks until we are damn well ready to move. So when we come back without our supposed Coven Leader, they will come sniffing around a lot more, probably very aggressively too. We just want you to be prepared for that and the way we are going to react to that." I said with a soft smile.

Bella smiled at me. "I figured as much. Jacob has been downright nasty to me ever since I came back and started spending time with all of you, as if he feels slighted somehow."

"He probably does. It is clear that he has a crush on you and in his mind you have no other choice than to be with him." Rosalie said with a slight growl in her voice.

It was a sentiment shared by all of us, and Bella seemed to notice too. "You guys don't have to worry. I have no intention whatsoever in ever even associating with him or anyone on that Reservation ever again. They all made it quite clear what they think of me after what happened. Charlie was crystal clear about conveying that."

"We know Bella, but just the thought of him having any sort of claim on you is setting off our instincts. It's something we can't really control." Victoria said softly.

Bella smiled at her. "Honestly I wouldn't mind if you all would put them in their place. It's not like any of them know how to actually fight a vampire."

"Possibly, but we would rather not take that chance when it comes to your safety, my sweet. Wolves are unpredictable, especially the young ones, and there is a very real possibility of you being hurt if you are in the way when they phase." I said softly.

Bella smiled at me. "Then I'll make sure to not be anywhere near them when you all confront them. I'll be safely in the house."

I smiled and moved to sit down on her other side, claiming one of her hands in my own. "That's for the best sweetie, we all just want to keep you safe."

She smiled and leaned into me while Alice repositioned herself a bit so she could safely lie against Bella's other side. "I know Esme, and I couldn't love you all more for wanting to keep me safe. It's just that I am not really used to people caring so much about me that it is still a little bit overwhelming at times."

"We understand that sweetheart, and we will try and show you that we will always mean the things we say to you out of love and that we will always be honest with you. We know very well how much you were lied to by Edward, and all of us refuse to add to that." I said with a soft smile as I nuzzled her hair.

She groaned contently at that as she buried herself in my side. "I don't know why that feels so amazing, but please don't stop."

I smiled at that, having expected that reaction. "That is our mating bond at work Bella. Like our inner vampires are screaming at us to hold you close and never let go, in you it wants to stay close to us. It's a primal thing that is going to assert itself more now that there is nothing holding it back from showing itself, and given that you were forced to deny it for a few months, it might show itself in a very a-typical way for you, since we know you are a very independent young woman and probably now feel the need to cling to us with everything you've got."

She nodded and smiled as she drifted off in my arms, the combination of all of our pheromones lulling her into a blissful slumber.

Bella's POV

When I woke up a few hours later, I was still cocooned between Alice and Esme, and by the sound of it they were both purring softly from having me so close. "Hey sleepyhead. Did you have a good nap?" Rosalie asked with a soft smile from the other couch.

I nodded and stretched as good as my current position allowed me to. "I had an amazing nap, thank you Rose, it's almost as if I sleep better when one of you is close by. We might need to make this a permanent thing."

The blonde grinned at that, which was a complete new one for me. "I think that can be arranged Bella. Although there might be a fight over who gets to spend the night with you first."

I smiled at her. "That's not that difficult, and certainly does not require a fight of any sort. I think we can come up with a schedule until I am comfortable enough to spend the night with all of us together in bed."

They all smiled at that. "We can't wait for that day, Bella. I'll admit that it's getting harder every day to not show you exactly how we feel about you." Alice said as she wrapped her arms around my waist.

I just smiled and pressed a kiss to the top of her head. "It's okay Ali, soon you will be able to show me the full extent of your love. Just not tonight. If at all possible I would like tonight to be for Victoria."

The redhead smiled at that. "Of course Bella, thank you for trusting me with this already."

"Out of everyone I've spent the least time with you over the last weeks, so this is the least I can do. I know you would never hurt me. Plus I really want to find out if you are still willing to uphold your end of our deal."

Victoria smiled at that. "Of course I am Bella. I never break a promise I made to someone I love."

I just smiled at her. "So sweetie, what do you want for dinner tonight? It's been a while since I have been able to cook for you." Esme said with a soft smile.

I thought about it for a minute. "Could you make some tacos? It's been too long since I had fresh tacos."

Esme smiled at me. "I think we can do taco's for you Bella. I only need to get a few things from the store."

"I can get them Esme. It's the least I can do." Victoria said with a smile.

Esme smiled at her. "That's okay. I'll text you a list of ingredients. Feel free to take my credit card with you. We're still waiting on your ID's and bank cards."

The redhead nodded and smiled at us as she took off through the back door and Esme immediately texted her what she needed. "Are you feeling okay Bella? Is there anything you need?" Alice asked softly.

I shook my head and smiled at her. "No Ali, I'm more than fine. You all have made sure that I felt at home the moment I walked into the door, almost literally too."

Alice smiled at that. "We will always make sure that you are saved from your clumsy self Bella, no matter how adorable it is to see you trip over literally nothing."

I groaned at that as I buried myself deeper into Esme's side. "Keep that up and you won't get nighttime privileges for a while."

Alice pouted adorably at that. "You wouldn't do that to little old me, would you Bella?"

I just smiled and pressed a kiss to her cheek. "Of course I wouldn't, like you I was only teasing. It's not like I could deny you something anyway."

The Pixie grinned and kissed my cheek. "Well, let's not pretend that you don't have the same effect on us Bella."

I smiled as she cuddled in closer to me. "I certainly hope so, or this might be a bit weird. In any other situation I wouldn't exactly be cuddled up to two vampires that I consider family."

Both Esme and Alice smiled at me. "I'll be honest and say that this type of dynamic mating bond is very rare in our world. Usually such a bond forms between two vampires who then grow to love each other in time. Something like we share is a once a century occurrence." Esme said with a loving smile.

"I sometimes wish that I could show you all what I see when I receive a vision about us. I've seen so many wonderful things we will do together that I barely have a way to word it all." Alice said with a soft smile.

"That alone is a rare thing. You're not one to usually be at a loss for words." Rosalie said with a smirk.

Alice gave the blonde a glare, but I just couldn't help but smile at her. "Rose does have a point Ali. You do have a tendency to ramble at times. I said with a soft smile.

She pouted adorably at that as she buried herself even further into my side which I of course I didn't mind at all. Alice was always very comfortable to lie with, which only made me wonder how it would feel with the others.

"What are you thinking about Bella, because that is a mighty blush you're sporting out of nowhere." Rosalie said with a smirk.

I smiled at her. "I was just thinking how comfortable you all are to lie against, since Alice is always so adamant on cuddling against me."

Esme smiled at me. "I think you'll find that particular fact out soon enough Bella. We all have been fighting the urge to be close to you for a very long time. Alice has been lucky in that case because Edward didn't think she was as big of a threat as Rosalie was."

I laughed lightly at that. "Well, I'll be honest and say that I've had a crush on all three of you from basically the moment I met all of you. I also know Alice is generally more affectionate with me, so it was easier to latch on to that."

Rosalie smiled at that. "There is a reason I couldn't be that girl Bella, which we talked about earlier. Soon I will tell you why I am the Ice Queen."

I smiled at her as Victoria came back from her shopping trip, obviously having bought way more than was necessary for dinner.

Victoria's POV

I will fully admit I was at least a little bit nervous about being this close to Bella for several hours. It wasn't the fear of hurting her. I knew that was impossible after everything I did to her through my inaction. What I was worried about was how she would seek closeness tonight and more so what my reaction to that was going to be.

The entire family had assured me that everything would be fine, and that Bella wouldn't have asked me to spend the night with her if she wasn't completely sure about this.

As I made my way up the stairs I kept telling myself that it was going to be okay, but at the same time with every step I took I could feel the nerves creep in.

The door to her room was already slightly ajar, which meant she was ready for me to come in. "You decent Bella?" I asked as I poked my head into her room.

"Never Vicki. I thought you knew that already." She said with a grin.

I smiled at her as I closed the door. "Good, that'll make things a lot easier. I said as I dropped my robe, revealing shorts and tank top.

She blushed brightly at that as I crawled into bed with her, for once deciding to not let my nerves get the better of me.

I also couldn't resist and taking a glance at what she was wearing, which was a pair of pajama pants and a faded band shirt. "I have to say that I hadn't expected you to let me be the first to share your bed Bella. It really means a lot to me."

She smiled as she got comfortable against me, wiggling a little to find the right spot. "Out of everyone I've spent the least amount of time with you and I really want to get to know you better. What happened before was never your fault, nor did you have the chance to warn any of us what James was like. Both him and Edward would've found a way to stop that from happening. I never blamed you and I hope in time you will believe me when I say that. What matters is that the five of us can finally live our lives the way we want to."

I smiled and pulled her against me. "I know you don't blame me Bella, but it will take a while for me to forgive myself for what happened to you due to my inaction. I do agree with you that only the future matters now and I am very happy to share my future with you and the others."

Bella smiled and pressed a soft kiss to my cheek. "As I am very happy to share my future with you, both living and as a vampire. I saw something in your eyes that day that broke my heart, and I knew from that moment I would do anything to make sure you found what it was you were looking for."

"Who could ever have guessed that all of us in the house were looking for the same thing, being one beautiful brunette that we all love." I said with a soft smile.

She blushed a little at that. "I still don't understand why though. I'm no one special. I'm just plain human Bella."

I smiled and pressed a kiss to her cheek. "You are beautiful Bella both on the inside and outside. What's bringing these feelings up all of a sudden?"

"All my life people have said that I've been shockingly unattractive and Edward played on those insecurities a lot. Reaffirming those feelings almost daily. It was only when I started spending time with Alice and Rosalie that I started to realize what they saw, but sometimes these old insecurities rear their ugly heads." She said softly.

"We'll always be here to reassure you that you are gorgeous and wanted Bella, that is a promise I can give you right now. There will never be a day that we won't think that you are the most beautiful woman in the world and we will let you know that too." I said with a loving smile.

Bella's blush darkened a little at that as she rested her head on my chest. "Stop it Vicki. You're making me blush way too much for this time of night. I can never sleep when I get these types of images in my head."

I smiled at her as I ran my fingers through her hair. "Sorry Bella, I didn't mean to get you all flustered so right before bed. Is there anything I can do to help you?"

She smiled as she played with the strings of my top. "There are a few things I can think of, but none of them are things I'm really ready for. So if you agree to be my cuddle pillow for tonight, I'll let you keep your clothes on."

I grinned at her. "I thought you knew I don't have an issue with being naked little bird, but I understand if you're not ready for that. I'll gladly be your cuddle pillow tonight. Just don't be surprised if I excuse myself at some point tomorrow morning." I said with a wink.

"You're very much excused to help yourself at some point tomorrow Vicky. But why did you call me little bird?" She asked softly.

"I figured it would be a cute nickname for you. I could think of another one if you want?" I said with a soft smile.

She smiled at that as she kept plucking at my top. "I like it a lot, although I have to admit I'm a little bit jealous of you, and I suppose Rosalie too. I've always dreamed about having bigger breasts, but yours are amazing."

I smiled at her. "They're yours whenever you want them Bella." I said softly.

She smiled at me. "Thank you Vicki. I am sure that soon I will take you up on that, although I have pretty good view now too. Your nipples are straining against that tight top."

"That's because you're next to me Bella. I can't help but feel horny when you're so close to me." I said honestly.

Bella smiled and leaned in to kiss me. "Soon Vicki. I promise." She said before resting her head back on my chest and falling asleep soon after, leaving me speechless next to her.